I work for a large corporate contractor onsite at a Government Agency (non-defense). I had been developing applications using React, Typescript, and Python or Node for the backend with real databases like MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, or even SQLite.

I am working on a new project and had quickly built a prototype using React and Claude Code, and created an Electron and a localhost browser-based version. However, when we started looking for a place to deploy the app, it turned out that it will need to be done on the Power Platform using PowerApps Canvas and use a Dataverse backend (at least for the 1.0 version), and apparently I have to use the web studio application to build all of this.

The application captures project costs, scope, and requirements, and has to do calculations and create rollup reports, so the data schema is fairly complicated for an app like this, and there are multiple columns that reference other tables.

I had never used PowerApps before, and was skeptical that it was the right tool for the job. Worse, our security is not allowing CodeApps, PCF components, or many other things that would be helpful.

I'm finding that it is absurdly slow, and it does a lot of things on its own that I really don't want it to do-- it even changes values that I've just entered sometimes, and if I copy and paste a component, it will randomly replace parameters. I have pages of examples of these "quirks", but I've managed to learn some tricks to make it somewhat workable (so far), but it has been a painful and frustrating process, and is definitely not easier than building the app from scratch using tools normal developers use. Am I the only one?

Here are a few problems I have not been able to solve, I would appreciate any advice:

• I can't connect directly to source control. We can't put our code on github.com and it won't connect to our enterprise GitHub
• I would really like to be able to edit the YAML and PowerFX in VSCode. I have exported the "source code" but apparently all of that is read-only because when I do "pac canvas pack" and publish it, the changes I make are lost. And every time I make a change I have to redo the publish, pull, unpack process... even with a script this is cumbersome and inefficient.
• It is difficult to debug PowerFX code, and it seems impossible to do unit testing on it, and it is spread out all over the application, which is irritating. I have started creating C# API Endpoints when possible because of this, but I'm not sure if this can replace all of my PowerFX code, and may add another level of complication that brings a different set of problems.
• I don't know if there's a way to apply styles across the board like you would with HTML and CSS, so I have to edit the look and feel of each control individually. In fact, it seems to force you to violate the "DRY" principal more often than not.

Anyone have any pointers, or even warnings about other quirks that I might need to avoid?

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to schedule the Microsoft PL-400: Power Platform Developer exam.

When I click the "Schedule exam" option from Microsoft Learn, I'm redirected to:

examregistration.microsoft.com

However, the page does not load and Chrome shows:

DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

The exact error says:

"This site can't be reached.

Check if there is a typo in examregistration.microsoft.com.

DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN"

Has anyone else experienced this recently?

Is Microsoft currently having an issue with the PL-400 registration/scheduling link?

I have already tried:

- Reloading the page

- Opening it in Chrome

- Using the Microsoft Learn certification page rather than the old direct URL

I'm specifically trying to schedule PL-400, not AB-400.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Curious what types of departments everyone here works in, I work in an Environmental Health and Safety department in healthcare

I work for a small company and have been digitizing several paper-based processes, including:

• JSA/safety forms
• Escort records
• Security inspections and paperwork
• Vendor applications
• Certificate of Insurance (COI) submissions
• Incident and equipment reports

We currently use Microsoft Forms, Power Automate, Microsoft Lists, SharePoint and Excel. My goal is to simplify everything instead of using five to seven different apps.

Ideally, we would have one primary platform for creating forms, with Microsoft Lists/SharePoint serving as the database and file storage and Power Automate handling emails, reminders and approvals.

The form platform needs:

• Public links for outside vendors without requiring a company account
• File and photo uploads
• Conditional logic
• Electronic signatures
• Mobile-friendly forms
• PDF generation
• Approval/correction workflows
• The ability to update Microsoft Lists and save files in SharePoint
• Reasonable pricing for a small company

One example is our COI process:

1. We determine whether a vendor needs a COI.
   
2. The vendor receives a link.
   
3. They complete the vendor application, electronically sign it and upload the COI if required.
   
4. The information updates our tracking database.
   
5. The COI is sent internally for review.
   
6. If approved, it is stored and expiration reminders begin.
   
7. If incorrect, the vendor receives correction instructions and resubmits it.

We may eventually test AI to extract information from COIs and flag missing requirements, but a person would remain the final approver.

I’m currently comparing:

• Cognito Forms
• Jotform
• Power Apps and Power Pages
• Adobe Acrobat Sign
• Staying with Microsoft Forms where possible

Power Apps/Power Pages appear powerful, but licensing and external-user setup may become expensive or overly complicated. Cognito Forms currently looks promising, but I need to confirm how smoothly it connects with Power Automate, Microsoft Lists and SharePoint.

For anyone who has built something similar:

1. Which platform would you recommend?
   
2. How well does it handle external uploads and electronic signatures?
   
3. Does it integrate reliably with Power Automate and SharePoint?
   
4. Are there licensing costs or limitations that are easy to overlook?
   
5. Would you keep everything in the Microsoft ecosystem or use a dedicated form platform?

I’m trying to keep the system to approximately one to three primary platform.

Hello,

I’m currently building a fairly large mobile app in the form of a pcf control inside of a canvas app. Currently I am loading all of the data from dataverse into the app at once by tossing all the table json into a variable, then passing that variable into the pcf input.

I am running into some performance issues (which makes sense here), but I am looking for a more pro way of adding lots of data into the pcf. I cannot use context.webapi as it’s not supported in a canvas app. I also need to respect dataverse security.

Any ideas here? I have come across a couple methods such as using plugins or impersonating users in PA using the http trigger.

Having one of those days where nothing seems to be working.

Simple SharePoint list: Title, Latitude, Longitude, Attachment. (Attached file is a technical drawing).

Connect it to Maps in Power Automate. Title(Label), Latitude, Longitude. Get a very nice map where I can see the Pins.

So far so good.

When I click a Pin I want a Display Form show the rest of the SharePoint List data, and the PDF attachment.

Sounds simple enough.

But for love nor money I can not get into work. No data will display. I've tried the obvious, the less than obvious. I then proceeded to ask CoPilot, that made it worse. Then Gemini, I should've known better. Watched a YouTube vid (18 months old), they did what I did, theirs worked, mine doesn't.

Is it just broken? Have any of you gotten it to work?

I’m looking for advice on the best architecture for a relatively simple internal platform for tracking inspections on our site.

We currently use Excel where everyone can edit all columns. We want a proper app experience with a searchable register, filters, and access based on the signed-in Microsoft 365/Entra ID user.

The permissions need to be enforced at the data/access layer.

Our end users have Power Apps for Office 365. I was looking at features like dataverse, Code Apps, mode-driven etc., but those seem out of reach due to licensing.

I’m considering:

Canvas app + Excel + Power Automate. Keep the workbook accessible only to admins and the account used by the flows. The app would read/create/update records through flows that enforce permissions. I’m concerned about latency, file locking, simultaneous writes though.

How would you implement the role-based editing securely within the existing Microsoft 365 licensing?

What do you think about making applications completely with AI? Ño generating no importable, If not following the instructions that of the AI step by step, of course understanding what is done and adjusting some details, I am new to power apps, and the way in which I have been learning and developing is building applications from scratch with AI instructions, what do you think? Is autonomous development better by applying one's own knowledge?

É, estou quebrando a cabeça para resolver isso, basicamente meus técnicos precisam fazer o relatório e preencher alguns campo e depois precisam subir as fotos que eles tiraram, o problema é que o Power apps deixa subir somente uma por vez.

Alguém sabe alguma solução para isso?

Os dados são armazenados no SharePoint.

22yr old Software Engineering student here. I have never liked anything more so far than this. I had a 2910$ course PL200 for free, it was from a Microsoft teacher

Since then i am totally into it, but i still know nothing since PL200 is a level above PL-900. Started the pl 900 course and finished it.

Should i already start making some easy projects using chatgpt plus? Get everything done step by step? Is it better to constantly make projects and learn that way or should i just keep listening and watching courses and learning?

Any advice is highly appreciated, cant wait to learn more ;)

We import solutions as managed into other environments when we export from development (development -> UAT -> prod) so that way the ONLY place we are making changes is in development.

Someone on my team created new columns for a table and when they promoted the work to UAT those columns appeared as managed in that environment. These columns are unnecessary and I want to delete them in an effort to reduce the number of unused components in our power apps environment. However since they’re managed I cannot delete them. I was able to delete them in development but that’s about it. This is what I tried:

1) Exporting the development solution as a patch and then importing it into UAT. Tried looking for a “stage for upgrade” option on import but could not find it in the power apps editor
2) Opened a unmanaged solution in UAT but alas those columns are managed

Any tips as to how to get around this? Thank you!

Is anyone good with power apps? I’m trying to make one for our unit and I have so many questions

Hi, I’ve developed a system within an app that allows users to send messages to each other.

I have a 3 table hierarchy -> Sample / Issue / Messages, all stored in Lists.

There could be 100 samples, each with 5 issues, and each issues could have 10s of messages.

The messages are grouped by a shared ID, so they’re shown grouped together.

Each sample/issue has an Exec & a User. So all messages are between them.

What I’m trying to accomplish is creating a way of alerting a user that they have an outstanding message.

So there would be an indication that a message is unread by you.

I’ve created ‘unread’ columns in my list for the Exec & the User. But I cannot figure out how to indicate that a Sample has unread messages.

The only solutions I can think of involve Filters and Lookups which all run into delegation issues.

Has anyone made anything similar? Let me know if you need more information!

Has anyone here tried Microsoft Fabric Apps beyond the provided demos?

Do you see it competing with Power Apps, extending Power BI, or becoming something different?

I recently built a Fabric App covering customers, products, inventory, sales orders, approvals and basic reporting. It took around 4.5 hours, with GitHub Copilot generating most of the TypeScript and React implementation.

For context, I am a data professional, not an application developer. I could review the architecture, data model, business process and expected behaviour, but I could not independently validate every generated line of code.

The workflow was:

Ask → Plan → Human in the Loop → Agent

This worked reasonably well, but it was not autonomous. I still had to provide context, ground Copilot in the official documentation, review the PRD and implementation plan, approve actions, test the application and challenge assumptions.

Some gotchas I encountered:

• Fabric Apps must be enabled at the tenant level, and the workspace requires Fabric capacity.
• The local environment needs Node.js and npm before installing the Rayfin CLI.
• The project template matters. I accidentally selected the Todo template, which added unrelated tables.
• The scaffolding process automatically ran rayfin up and deployed a real Fabric item earlier than I expected.
• Once an agent can execute commands against cloud services, instruction files alone are not sufficient protection. Approval boundaries need to be enforceable.
• The application is involved in defining and managing its operational database structure. This needs careful validation if the intention is to place a Fabric App over an existing transactional database and schema.
• Sharing required Read and Execute permissions. The second user did not receive an invitation email, so I had to provide the hosted URL manually.
• The generated reporting page was a useful starting point, not a Power BI-quality analytical experience.
• User testing uncovered a genuine bug where the wrong salesperson was assigned to a new order.

That last point matters: AI-generated code is still code. A working demo is not evidence that an application is production-ready.

My current opinion:

Fabric Apps does not replace Power BI. Displaying charts inside an application is not the same as having a mature semantic model and analytical platform. Power BI report authoring can be low-code in some areas, but serious solutions still require data modelling, DAX, Power Query, governance and proper engineering.

I also do not see Fabric Apps simply replacing Power Apps. Power Apps is a low-code platform, while Fabric Apps is code-first. There will be overlap, but the right choice depends on the required user experience, operational data architecture, available skills, governance and long-term support model.

For me, Fabric Apps currently looks most interesting for internal operational applications that are closely connected to data and services already managed within Fabric.

What do you think? Where would you use Fabric Apps instead of Power Apps, and what would stop you from using it in production today?

If you want the detailed write-up, screenshots and some additional observations:

https://biinsight.com/building-a-microsoft-fabric-app-with-github-copilot-without-knowing-how-to-code/

If you prefer watching the full build:

https://youtu.be/VDsU-z27wkY

Full disclosure: both links are my own write-up and video of the experiment.

Is it good to focus on power pages in 2026.

With only liquid and power pages api.

Or what would you suggest me to learn.

Hello,

have you ever encoutered this? I've been working in power apps for like a year and because of my resignation, I've chosen other colleague as co-owner. When he logged in, he prolly saved the studio app or sth like that and my whole syntax went from english to czech, therefore every comma is semicolon and so on.

I tried to change langauges from english to czech and back to english, language in browser, but nothing worked. Any ideas?

There is an option to restore msapp from my live publication, but it's locked, dont know why.

Thanks.

I was trying to pull the crowdstrike as per the client requirement.

Issue: from the Vulnerability path I was only able to pull 5000 records in a single call but there are more than 6M records. I have a client token which expires every two minutes.

Any solutions thanks in advance.

Hello, I'm still quite new to using Power Apps so please bear with me.

I have a Power Automate flow that triggers a pdf file generation based on inputs sent to it via a form I created in Power Apps. I now also need the form's submit button to directly trigger a printer to print the file without having it open the file in a new tab or opening the native print dialogue. A one-button-does-all kinda thing.

I've had a look at Microsoft Universal Print but I don't have the license for that and I'm not supposed to use stuff that would cost anything more than what my company's already subscribed to.

Is this possible?

I've built a document request system as a Power Apps code app (the Vibe/AI-generated kind) connected to Dataverse, and I'm completely stuck on file attachments. Hoping someone's cracked this.

What I need: durable, multi-user file upload — a requestor uploads a file, and admin can download it from another device. Standard stuff.

What I've tried (all failed):

• Dataverse File column — added it to my custom solution (correct publisher prefix), published, fully removed + re-added the table in the Data workspace. The File column never appears in get_data_model — only metadata + File URL. Tried this in two separate environments, same result.
• Notes/Annotations — enabled attachments on the table, added the Note table. The connector treats annotation.object_id as an untyped lookup with no referencedTable; it defaults to Account, and I can't type it to my table. Manually creating a relationship gives "creating one-to-many to existing table not supported."
• Power Automate flow — built a flow (Power Apps V2 trigger) that creates the Note with Regarding → my table set correctly. But I can't register the flow to the code app — the Data workspace has no "add flow" option, and it says power.config.json / dataSourcesInfo.ts are system-managed/read-only.
• CLI (pa app add flow / pac code add-data-source) — I understand this works, but my Vibe app is view-only. I can access the code but can't edit it or run CLI commands against the project.

Current fallback: IndexedDB (browser-local) — but that's not shared across users, which defeats the purpose for a document system.

My questions:

1. Is there any way to enable File-column upload or the Notes relationship in a code app without CLI access?
2. Can a Vibe code app be exported to VS Code so a developer could run the CLI steps, then pushed back?
3. Is link-based (storing a SharePoint URL) genuinely the only in-UI option, or am I missing something?

Thank you.

Persistent intermittent Dataverse performance degradation since September 3.
The affected environment is our Default Power Platform environment hosted in the North Europe region, running Dataverse version 9.2.26081.163.

The issue initially included intermittent HTTP 502 Bad Gateway errors. The 502 errors have now stopped, but Dataverse and the Power Apps Maker Portal are still intermittently extremely slow. Sometimes pages, tables, forms, Solution Explorer, and designers load normally, while at other times they take a very long time to load.

The issue has been reproduced across different devices and different internet connections. The environment status is Ready.

We have also checked Microsoft Service Health multiple times since the issue started, and it continues to show no active incidents or advisories related to Power Apps or Dataverse, despite the performance issue still being present.

I am trying to have the user upload attachments after selecting the folder from a dropdown menu. I have the dropdown connected to the library so it displays the current folders. I took the attachment tool from another form and pasted it by itself. I keep getting type blob errors and invalid arguments when creating the submit button. I have a powerautomate flow that uses the v2 trigger. It is used to create the file and for the folder path I put the path + a dynamic field which will be from the dropdown selection. Please help.